Principles of Electronic Communication Systems

Chapter 2 The Fundamentals of Electronics: A Review

Topics Covered in Chapter 2 • 2-1: Gain, Attenuation, and Decibels • 2-2: Tuned Circuits • 2-3: Filters • 2-4: Fourier Theory

2-1: Gain, Attenuation,and Decibels • Most circuits in electronic communication are used to manipulate signals to produce a desired result. • All signal processing circuits involve: • Gain • Attenuation

output Vout input Vin = AV = 2-1: Gain, Attenuation,and Decibels Gain • Gain means amplification. It is the ratio of a circuit’s output to its input. Figure 2-1: An amplifier has gain.

2-1: Gain, Attenuation,and Decibels • Most amplifiers are also power amplifiers, so the same procedure can be used to calculate power gain AP where Pin is the power input and Pout is the power output. Power gain (Ap)= Pout / Pin • Example: The power output of an amplifier is 6 watts (W). The power gain is 80. What is the input power? Ap= Pout / Pin therefore Pin = Pout / Ap Pin = 6 / 80 = 0.075 W = 75 mW

2-1: Gain, Attenuation,and Decibels • An amplifier is cascaded when two or more stages are connected together. • The overall gain is the product of the individual circuit gains. • Example: Three cascaded amplifiers have power gains of 5, 2, and 17. The input power is 40 mW. What is the output power? Ap = A1×A2× A3 = 5 × 2 × 17 = 170 Ap= Pout / Pin therefore Pout = ApPin Pout = 170 (40 × 10-3) = 6.8W

2-1: Gain, Attenuation,and Decibels Attenuation • Attenuation refers to a loss introduced by a circuit or component. If the output signal is lower in amplitude than the input, the circuit has loss or attenuation. • The letter A is used to represent attenuation • Attenuation A = output/input = Vout/Vin • Circuits that introduce attenuation have a gain that is less than 1. • With cascaded circuits, the total attenuation is the product of the individual attenuations.

Figure 2-3: A voltage divider introduces attenuation. 2-1: Gain, Attenuation,and Decibels

Figure 2-4: Total attenuation is the product of individual attenuations of each cascaded circuit. 2-1: Gain, Attenuation,and Decibels

2-1: Gain, Attenuation,and Decibels Decibels • The decibel (dB) is a unit of measure used to express the gain or loss of a circuit. • The decibel was originally created to express hearing response. • A decibel is one-tenth of a bel. • When gain and attenuation are both converted into decibels, the overall gain or attenuation of a circuit can be computed by adding individual gains or attenuations, expressed in decibels.

2-1: Gain, Attenuation,and Decibels Decibels: Decibel Calculations • Voltage Gain or Attenuation dB = 20 log Vout/ Vin • Current Gain or Attenuation dB = 20 log Iout/ Iin • Power Gain or Attenuation dB = 10 log Pout/ Pin

2-1: Gain, Attenuation,and Decibels Decibels: Decibel Calculations • Example: An amplifier has an input of 3 mV and an output of 5 V. What is the gain in decibels? dB = 20 log 5/0.003 = 20 log 1666.67 = 20 (3.22) = 64.4

2-1: Gain, Attenuation,and Decibels Decibels: Decibel Calculations • Example: A filter has a power input of 50 mW and an output of 2 mW. What is the gain or attenuation? dB = 10 log (2/50) = 10 log (0.04) = 10 (−1.398) = −13.98 • If the decibel figure is positive, that denotes a gain.

2-1: Gain, Attenuation,and Decibels Decibels: Antilogs • The antilog is the number obtained when the base is raised to the logarithm which is the exponent. • Antilogs are used to calculate input or output voltage or power, given the decibel gain or attenuation and the output or input. • The antilog is the base 10 raised to the dB/10 power. • The antilog is readily calculated on a scientific calculator.

2-1: Gain, Attenuation,and Decibels Decibels: dBm and dBc • When a decibel value is computed by comparing a power value to 1 mW, the result is a value called the dBm. This is a useful reference value. • The value dBc is a decibel gain attenuation figure where the reference is the carrier.

2-2: Tuned Circuits • Virtually all communications equipment contains tuned circuits made up of inductors and capacitors that resonate at specific frequencies.

2-2: Tuned Circuits Reactive Components • All tuned circuits and many filters are made up of inductive and capacitive elements. • Opposition to alternating-current flow offered by coils and capacitors is known as reactance. • Reactance is expressed in ohms (Ω).

2-2: Tuned Circuits Reactive Components: Capacitors • A capacitor used in an ac circuit charges and discharges. • Capacitors tend to oppose voltage changes across them. • Opposition to alternating current offered by a capacitor is known as capacitive reactance (Xc). • Capacitive reactance (Xc) is inversely proportional to the value of capacitance (C) and operating frequency (f).

2-1: Gain, Attenuation,and Decibels Reactive Components: Capacitors • Example: What is the capacitive reactance of a 100-pF capacitor at 2 MHz? Xc = 1/2πfC Xc= 1/6.28 (2 ×106) (100 × 10−12) = 796.2 Ω

Figure 2-8: What a capacitor looks like at high frequencies. 2-2: Tuned Circuits

2-2: Tuned Circuits Reactive Components: Inductors • An inductor, also called a coil or choke, is a winding of multiple turns of wire. • When a current is passed through a coil, a magnetic field is produced around the coil. • If the applied voltage and current are varying, this causes a voltage to be self-induced into the coil winding. • This process has the effect of opposing current changes in the coil. This effect is known as inductance.

2-2: Tuned Circuits Reactive Components: Inductors • The basic unit of inductance is the henry (H). However, practical inductance values are in the millihenry (mH = 10-3), microhenry (μH = 10-6), and nanohenry (nH = 10−9 H) regions. • Opposition to alternating current offered by inductors is continuous and constant and is known as inductive reactance (XL).

2-2: Tuned Circuits Figure 2-9: Types of inductors. (a) Heavy self-supporting wire coil. (b) Inductor made as copper pattern. (c) Insulating form. (d) Toroidal inductor. (e) Ferrite bead inductor. (f ) Chip inductor.

2-2: Tuned Circuits Reactive Components: Inductors • Inductive reactance (XL) is directly proportional to frequency and inductance. • Example: What is the inductive reactance of a 40-μH coil at 18 MHz? XL = 6.28 (18 × 106) (40 × 10-6) = 4522 Ω

2-2: Tuned Circuits Reactive Components: Resistors • At low frequencies, a standard resistor offers nearly pure resistance. • At high frequencies, a resistor’s leads have inductance. • A resistor’s lead inductance and stray capacitance cause the resistor to act like a complex RLC circuit. • Tiny resistor chips used in surface mount circuits minimize inductance and stray capacitance. • Film resistors minimize thermal effect noise.

Figure 2-11: Equivalent circuit of a resistor at high (radio) frequencies. 2-2: Tuned Circuits

2-2: Tuned Circuits Reactive Components: Skin Effect. • Skin effect isthe tendency of electrons flowing in a conductor to flow near and on the outer surface of the conductor frequencies in the VHF, UHF, and microwave regions. • This process increases the resistance of the conductor and greatly affects the performance of the circuit.

Figure 2-12: Skin effect increases wire and inductor resistance at high frequencies. 2-2: Tuned Circuits

2-2: Tuned Circuits Tuned Circuits and Resonance • A tuned circuit is made up of inductance and capacitance and resonates at a specific frequency, the resonant frequency. • The terms tuned circuit and resonant circuit are used interchangeably. • Tuned circuits are frequency-selective and respond best at their resonant frequency.

fr = 1 2π√LC 2-2: Tuned Circuits Tuned Circuits and Resonance: Series Resonant Circuits • A series resonant circuit is made up of inductance, capacitance and resistance connected in series. • Series resonant circuits are often referred to as LCR or RLC circuits. • Resonance occurs when inductive and capacitive reactances are equal. • Resonant frequency (fr) is inversely proportional to inductance and capacitance.

2-2: Tuned Circuits Figure 2-13: Series RLC circuit. Figure 2-14 Variation of reactance with frequency.

2-2: Tuned Circuits Tuned Circuits and Resonance: Series Resonant Circuits • Example: What is the resonant frequency of a 2.7-pF capacitor and a 33-nH inductor? fr = 1/2π√LC = 1/6.28√33 × 10−9× 2.7 × 10−12 fr = 5.33 × 108 Hz or 533 MHz

2-2: Tuned Circuits Tuned Circuits and Resonance: Series Resonant Circuits • The bandwidth (BW) of a series resonant circuit is the narrow frequency range over which the current is highest. • Half-power points are the current levels at which the frequency response is 70.7% of the peak value of resonance. • The quality (Q) of a series resonant circuit is the ratio of the inductive reactance to the total circuit resistance. • Selectivity is how a circuit responds to varying frequencies. • The bandwidth of a circuit is inversely proportional to Q.

Figure 2-16: Bandwidth of a series resonant circuit. 2-2: Tuned Circuits

Figure 2-17: The effect of Q on bandwidth and selectivity in a resonant circuit. 2-2: Tuned Circuits

2-2: Tuned Circuits Tuned Circuits and Resonance: Parallel Resonant Circuits • A parallel resonant circuit is formed when the inductor and capacitor of a tuned circuit are connected in parallel with the applied voltage. • A parallel resonant circuit is often referred to as a LCR or RLC circuit. • Resonance occurs when inductive and capacitive reactances are equal. • The resonant frequency (fr) is inversely proportional to inductance and capacitance.

2-2: Tuned Circuits Figure 2-19: Parallel resonant circuit currents. (a) Parallel resonant circuit. (b) Current relationships in parallel resonant circuit.

2-2: Tuned Circuits Tuned Circuits and Resonance: Parallel Resonant Circuits • At resonance, a parallel tuned circuit appears to • have infinite resistance • draw no current from the source • have infinite impedance • act as an open circuit. • However, there is a high circulating current between the inductor and capacitor, storing and transferring energy between them.

2-2: Tuned Circuits Tuned Circuits and Resonance: Parallel Resonant Circuit • Because such a circuit acts as a kind of storage vessel for electric energy, it is often referred to as a tank circuitand the circulating current is referred to as the tank current.

2-3: Filters • A filter is a frequency-selective circuit. • Filters pass certain frequencies and reject others. • Passive filters are created using components such as: resistors, capacitors, and inductors that do not amplify. • Active filters use amplifying devices such as transistors and operational amplifiers.

2-3: Filters • There are five basic kinds of filter circuits: • Low-pass filters only pass frequencies below a critical (cutoff) frequency. • High-pass filters only pass frequencies above the cutoff frequency. • Bandpass filters pass frequencies over a narrow range between lower and upper cutoff frequencies. • Band-reject filters reject or stop frequencies over a narrow range between lower and upper cutoff frequencies. • All-pass filters pass all frequencies over a desired range but have a predictable phase shift characteristic.

2-3: Filters RC Filters • RC filters use combinations of resistors and capacitors to achieve a desired frequency response. • Most RC filters are of the low-pass or high-pass type. • Any low-pass or high-pass filter is effectively a frequency-dependent voltage divider. • An RC coupling circuit is a high-pass filter because the ac input component is developed across the resistor while dc voltage is blocked by a capacitor.

2-3: Filters RC Filters: Low-Pass Filter • A low-pass filter is a circuit that introduces no attenuation at frequencies below the cutoff frequency but completely eliminates all signals with frequencies above the cutoff. • Low-pass filters are sometimes referred to as high cut filters. • The cutoff frequency of a filter is that point where the resistance (R) and capacitive reactance (XC) are equal.

2-3: Filters Figure 2-24: RC low-pass filter. (a) Circuit. (b) Low-pass filter.

2-3: Filters RC Filters: High-Pass Filter • A high-pass filter passes frequencies above the cutoff frequency with little or no attenuation but greatly attenuates those signals below the cutoff. • The basic high-pass filter is a voltage divider with the capacitor serving as the frequency-sensitive component. • A high-pass filter can be implemented with a coil and a resistor.

2-3: Filters Figure 2-28: (a) RC high-pass filter. (b) RL high-pass filter.

fnotch = 1 2πRC 2-3: Filters RC Filters: RC Notch Filter • Notch filters, also called bandstop or band-reject filters, attenuate a narrow range of frequencies around a center point (frequency). • A simple notch filter implemented with resistors and capacitors is called a parallel-T or twin-T filter. • The center notch frequency is calculated:

2-3: Filters Figure 2-29: RC notch filter.

2-3: Filters LC Filters • LC filters use combinations of inductors and capacitors to achieve a desired frequency response. • They are typically used with radio frequency (RF) applications.

Principles of Electronic Communication Systems